The Evolution Of The Barbie Doll

The Barbie doll, originally introduced in the year of 1959, has evolved throughout the years to adapt to the numerous trends in fashion, lifestyles and beliefs which were present in society. The popular doll, which was present in many young childhoods, has had multiple progressions in the appearance of the doll which has been influenced by the popular culture throughout the years. The Barbie doll enterprise now has developed to have a wide range of skin colours, hair styles and clothing.
Throughout the years since Barbie was first released, many numerous trends in fashion and clothing have come and gone. The original Barbie doll displayed a young woman which modelled dark, curly hair with short bangs. However, throughout the years between 1959 and 1964, Barbie evolved into having her classic light blonde hair which has placed into a swirl and sleek ponytail. Along with the clothes, Barbies makeup also evolved with the specific styles which were present during the eras. For the first approximate ten years after the doll was released, she was shown to sport a thick liquid liner on her eyelid with a neutral or blue shade underneath. This fashion became less popular within the figurines as long and prominent eyelashes became a greater interest. The year of 1967 began the trend of Barbie
having more realistic eyelashes which were made from actual hair, unlike the current Barbie which is shown to have black lashes which are printed onto the dolls face. The popular clothing and makeup styles present in throughout the years noticeably affected the appearance of Barbie and caused her to evolve.
As the interests which were shown by women developed and altered throughout the years, new Barbie doll continued to be release in order to keep the figurines popular. As ‘rock and roll’ began to grow rapidly in popularity in the years of 1987, Barbie adapted to this style and a new figurine was made which showcased large hair, broad shoulder pads and a large number of bold colours. Numerous changes such as this can be seen throughout the years as dance and music which was well liked within society impacted the presentation of the Barbie doll. Another example of this is when a ‘punk’ figurine was released in 2011, another many parents did not approve of the promotion of tattoos to children, the franchise created the doll to continue to keep up with trends. Barbie was also influenced by the popular careers within women of the time. In 1985, as women became more powerful and commenced to branch out their job choices, an astronaut Barbie was made available to promote the new opportunities available to women. 2008 continued to display this strength of women as a graduation Barbie came out as more females had an interest in completing their education and having a successful future. Interests in culture influenced the appearance of Barbie in numerous ways over the years.
As the image and expectations of women altered, along with it so did Barbie. Numerous beliefs about women, including how conservative their clothing should be and how their appearance should be being two of the many examples of this. During the year of 1995, women’s clothing began to grow shorter and more revealing; this change in women’s clothing lead to Barbie’s outfits following this trend and started the trend of Barbie’s skimpy dresses and skirts. Prior to this, in the year 1985, the Barbie doll cooperation created the first black Barbie doll which begun their ethnic figurine range that grew throughout the years. The power of women began to grow in society during the 2000’s, which lead to a variation in the doll. In 2008, the franchise released a Barbie which aimed to promote women’s influence and education. This was followed by one of the greatest Barbie evolutions, the introduction of dolls with numerous body shapes. As society grew to despise the unrealistic expectations of Barbie’s body, the franchise came out with new dolls which now come in different shapes and sizes in order to promote self-love and show the numerous definitions of beauty. Barbie not only adapted to fashions and interests present in society, however also altered due to multiple beliefs which were existent.
After being first introduced in 1959, the Barbie doll has been tailored to suit multiple interest, beliefs and fashions which developed throughout the centuries.
These included new dolls which were being released including ones with different coloured hairstyles, clothing and makeup. The franchise also created dolls which suited to trendy jobs during the years and the current music and dance which was currently famous at the time. The figurine continued to alter as society came to advance as the public began to make the figurines body shape more realistic. The numerous developments which can be seen in the figurines were largely influenced by the popular culture present in
society.